Another great day going door to door and talking with the people of Ward 1 in Oshawa!
I value what all of you have had to say, whether it is about what is good or where there is opportunity for improvements. For questions about the city in general, I have found this to be a good opportunity to help act as a resource and find out more for you too. There are a few topics that I have heard about a lot in person as well as in emails worth highlighting so far:
- School bus routes:
- In some of the newer neighbourhoods, there are students that need to walk quite a distance to the nearest school bus stop that can be in a completely different subdivision requiring walking down regional roads without a sidewalk and through construction.
- For any new parents to the region that face issues like this, a first step that may not be clear is that you can request stop changes at: https://www.dsts.on.ca/scr and view the parent guide to learn more at: https://www.dsts.on.ca/document/parent-guide_websitedsts
- Bylaw clarity:
- I have heard from residents that some of the bylaws can be confusing as the enforcement can vary from one neighbourhood to the next. The main one I have heard is regarding street parking. The official bylaw states you can only park a maximum of 3 hours on streets, with specific rules on certain streets, if downtown, or in winter months.
- However, since enforcement is often complaint driven, many residents are unaware of this and have parked overnight many times without tickets. For occasional use parking permits to park up to 24 hours, you can get one online at: https://www.oshawa.ca/getting.../parking/parking-permits/
- Public transit & mobility:
- In the rural areas of Ward 1 and in some of the newer developments it is almost required to have a car if you want to go anywhere. I have gotten feedback on some areas where if you want to get to the nearest bus stop, you are walking either in a ditch or on roads that don't have full shoulders, for long distances. In the winter this is even more of a safety risk or outright impossibility depending on the snowfall.
- New routes are getting added and/or adjusted as new developments get built, but there are still opportunities for improvements both in public transit as well as through bike and pedestrian travel.
Regular communication with residents can help highlight where any gaps in services or confusing documentation from the city and region exist, so please continue to pass along any questions or concerns whether in person when I am going door to door or through my email at [email protected]!
If you want a councillor who embraces regular communication, on October 13th through 26th remember to vote for Christopher Biancaniello for Regional & City Councillor - Ward 1 Oshawa.